Donald Trump. AP/Seth Wenig A new report in The Washington Post suggests that immigrants who reside in the US illegally are working on one of Donald Trump's signature real-estate projects.

Trump has made relentless opposition to illegal immigration a core part of the platform for his GOP presidential campaign. That same opposition, however, is apparently causing awkwardness at a work site in Washington, D.C., where Trump is constructing a $200 million luxury hotel just blocks from the White House.

The Post's Antonio Olivo talked to 15 of the workers — some of whom, he wrote Monday, "acknowledged that they remain in the country illegally."

"The majority of us are Hispanics, many who came illegally," said a mason, Ivan Arellano, who reportedly obtained legal status through marriage. "And we're all here working very hard to build a better life for our families."

In response to The Post's inquiries, Trump representatives said the GOP businessman required all of his contractors to obey US immigration laws. The lead contractor for the luxury hotel, Lend Lease, declined to comment to The Post and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on Tuesday.

"Mr. Trump, who is the 100% owner of the Old Post Office [where the new hotel is being built], hired one of the largest contractors in the world to act as the general contractor," Michael Cohen, executive vice president and special counsel to Trump, told the newspaper. "That company is Lend Lease. They then go out and employ subcontractors to work for them.

"The obligation to check all workers on site is exclusive to Lend Lease," Cohen added. "This of course assumes that the assertion regarding the employees' status is accurate."

Trump International Hotel, Washington DC has hired Lend Lease, a globally recognized construction management firm, to oversee construction at the Old Post Office and requires all contractors performing work at the project to follow all applicable federal, state and local laws. Our contractors are required to have prospective employees produce documentation that establishes identity and employment eligibility in compliance with immigration law. Lend Lease and the Trump Organization have worked on many large development projects together and have always used best in class practices above and beyond what is required by law.